The way payday loan and cash advance lenders are talked about, people may think they sit atop piles of cash. Contrary to popular belief, short term loan lenders aren’t the extortion artists many believe they are. In fact, the typical payday loan lender doesn’t make a lot from loans. The profit margins are pretty slim.

Jobs fight poverty. Gainful employment grants motivated, enterprising consumers with the means to provide. Yet groups like the Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas seem to have missed the memo, suggests the Payday Pundit. The Dallas Observer reports that the Dallas coalition is working hard to shut down personal loan and installment loan companies in Texas,

A payday loan is a simple product that fills a specific financial niche for consumers who need quick cash but find themselves unable to obtain it via a traditional bank. Payday loans typically come to term after two weeks, and payment plus convenience fee is due at that time – usually on the consumer’s next

A newly released study links payday loans to rising crime rates and falling property values. It isn’t the first time that the two things have been connected, but the literature on payday lending has varied between a link existing and not existing. The sum total of the effects of payday lenders may be impossible to

Payday lending has been criticized on numerous grounds by a variety of sources, but inevitably these criticisms tend to point back toward a single source: usury. Lending and the charging of interest – even the concept of “exorbitant or unlawful rate of interest,” as a Google search defines usury – very likely predate the creation

Payday lending is a hot-button issue. Consumer Focus released a study saying the number of payday loans borrowed in the United Kingdom has quadrupled in the last four years. Montana’s I-164 initiative seeks to limit payday lending, and Arizona’s “Operation Sunset” ended all payday lending within the state on June 30. Federally, S.3245, the Payday

A lot of people have the idea that lenders of online loans can get away with just about anything. The offices for any online personal loan or installment loan could be anywhere, so people get the impression they can’t be tracked down. However, online loan lenders actually have to be far more careful than the

Some people have the idea that the payday advance industry does not compete for prices. In fact, many suspect lenders collaborate to keep prices and profits high at the expense of consumers. This case has been argued, citing the near uniformity of the price of the typical payday advance. However, those who make these claims

In the financial news industry, the media will periodically run an anti-payday loan story in which the same talking points are used. In the case of a recent Lansing State Journal article entitled “Going with payday loans might not be worth fees,” those talking points include 391 percent annual interest and varying levels of state

Much has been alleged by payday loan opponents regarding the so-called exploitative nature of the products payday loan stores have to offer. That is a diatribe-style argument that will rage on with certain activists, regardless of data pointing toward the contrary. However, here’s something that the best payday loan business organizations do that not only

The actual people that are payday loan borrowers are not who some claim them to be. Payday loan lenders are thought to target the most desperate and poor. Cash advance lenders are also said to concentrate in areas that are more densely populated by minorities. Like most stereotypes, the larger picture is actually a little

Interest rates are the issue that payday loan opponents rely on most often. Anti-payday loan activists compare interest rates on payday loans with the interest rates for other financial products such as auto loans or home mortgages. Payday loan opponents make these comparisons because it’s the easiest way for them to support their arguments. The

Critics of the cash advance industry have tried to say that lenders exploit minorities. The idea goes that minorities in poor neighborhoods are preyed upon by short term loan lenders to get them hooked. The truth is not that simple. A payday loan store goes where demand is highest. There isn’t a business on earth

There have been claims that payday loans come with too high a price. However, payday loans are actually cheaper than the alternatives. For instance, a payday loan can be far cheaper than paying the minimum payment on credit cards. A cash advance on a credit card can build a lot of interest over time. A

Despite planning and the best of intentions, sometimes people find themselves unable to repay their payday loans when they come due. That’s why payday lenders that are members of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) offer an Extended Payment Plan (EPP). These types of installment loans enable consumers to repay their loans over

One of the claims you hear about payday lenders is that the APR charged for payday loans is more than 100 percent per year. Granted, there is a kernel of truth to it, but only if you happen to take one particular view. The supposed high interest is among the reasons that the financial reform

Opponents of payday lending tend to argue that there are cheaper payday loan alternatives available. Their argument may get started to consumers with sufficient credit to grant the financial flexibility needed to obtain cheaper short term loans, but for consumers operating under great credit constraints, payday lending is a more practical option. Unfortunately, a great